The present invention relates to noncircular optical fiber structures usable for making optical fiber connections and methods of making same.
Optical fibers are broadly classified into two types, the first being single mode and the second being multimode. Whereas single mode fiber only supports a single mode, referred to as a fundamental mode, multimode fiber supports a plurality of modes, generally of the order of 1,000-10,000 or more. Multimode fiber can be either graded or step index, and can include a core and cladding which are made of glass, polymers, or a combination thereof. Though extensive research has gone into devising connectors for connectorizing optical fibers, the proposed solutions are often craft sensitive to implement or result in unacceptably lossy connections.